Golden Sun: The Rise of Ryze
by Ryze the Adept
Summary: A story about a young man sent on a quest to defeat an evil tyrant with his special abilities. Your typical story, I suppose.
1. Chapter I:The Beginning

Chapter I: The Beginning

"It's beautiful out tonight," thought Ryze to himself, "I enjoy nights like these." He sighed. Nights like this brought back many memories. Ryze found his unusual power under the night sky. He remembered it like it was yesterday. He was lost in the woods after hunting for several hours. Hunting was one of the only ways he could get food for his family, which was his baby sister and his mother. Ryze shivered as he vividly remembered the terror thinking he would never make it home. He had been in the woods at night before, but this night, the clouds hid the sky. The stars usually helped him find the way home. Ryze remembered sitting on the ground just wished the clouds would go away. When he looked up next, the clouds were rolling away with a small gust of wind. He still doesn't understand his power completely, but he thinks it's best not to try to understand. Other memories occur to him as well. Memories of his mother…

He shook that feeling off. He was on a mission. So Ryze continued on, silent in his footsteps. He was always careful to be silent and leave no trace of himself when he went out like this. He wasn't proud of stealing, but he had to feed his sister, and no job in his small hometown of Kunhal paid enough even for himself. Ryze made his way into Tolbi, the rich city that severely taxed his own village. "These people are so rich," he thought, "they'll never know if I take just a little bit." And he was right. For years Ryze took small amounts from different houses there, just enough to feed himself and his sister. If he took too much like that one time…

Ryze did not want to think about his Mom right now. He had work to do. He silently whispered "Hide" and disappeared. Whenever he used this power he could become invisible, and no one could see him. However, his sister, Kurliah, told him she could make out his outline. Again, he doesn't understand why. With this magic spell, he crept into a house. Just one look at the inside and he could tell who ever lived here was super rich. Certainly they would not miss a few gold pieces. He gathered a few pieces he found lying around the house, a few food items, he even found some herbs.

"This should be about enough," he thought to himself, but the sound of a girl's shriek stopped his thoughts. Ryze slowly turned around to see a girl, possibly around 17 years old, his age, staring at him. "This doesn't make since," he thought to himself, "my invisible barrier is still up, how can she see me?" His mind drifted to how Kurliah can see him when he is hidden. "Is this the same thing?" he questioned. He did not have time for that now. He started to rush out the door. "Wait!" exclaimed the girl. Ryze knew what to do. He quickly unhid himself and whispered, "Sleep". She let out a gasp, and passed out. "Izimmi, is something wrong?" a voice asked. Ryze knew it was time to leave. Only as he was leaving the city did he hear the yelling of an angry man in the house.

Ryze made his way to his village and then to his small home. "No use in using hide to get inside," Ryze thought to himself, "Kurliah could see me anyway." Ryze's 13 year old sister did not approve of his midnight raids. Kurliah works all day to earn a little bit of gold. "It's not fair," he often rants to his sister, "you work hard all day and only get a few gold pieces. I should teach that old man a lesson…" "It will be alright, brother, we will survive," she would respond with. "She's much stronger than I will ever be," he thought. He entered quietly, but it was no use. His sister was waiting for him in their small one room house.

"Hello, Brother," Kurliah said, with a sad look in her eyes. "Kurliah, I know what you're thinking…but I didn't take much! Just a few coins and herbs…nothing noticeable! Those rich folk certainly couldn't- "

"Brother, every night you go out and steal from others. It's wrong. You put me and yourself at risk every time you do this. What would happen if you got caught?"

"I wouldn't get caught-"

"You got caught once."

"…that was different. I was young and foolish, I stole too much at one time. And trust me…I'll never forgive myself for that night…but this is different!"

"How is it different?"

"I don't steal much from one single house. They'll never notice-"

"But what they do?" Her voice started to rise as tears started to form in her eyes. "What if they capture you, Ryze? They would take you away and lock you up…or worse, like Mama…then I would be left alone…" Tears started to stream down her face. "Please don't leave me alone, Brother."

"Kurliah…" Ryze had no idea what to say. She had a tougher time than him. She would be helpless without him. "Kurliah, I'll never leave you alone. Please…stop crying…"

"Will you stop stealing then?"

"Kurliah…if I didn't take from people, we wouldn't make it. I can't make enough here to support us…for now you'll have to live with it."

"…did anyone see you tonight?" Ryze's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Were you seen?" Her question was met with silence. He could not lie to his sister, that girl had saw him.

"Oh I knew it. Ryze-"

"Kurliah, come outside with me." She stared at him for a minute, but agreed and walked outside. They had a bench set up behind their house, even though they usually had no time to enjoy rest. They both sat down and stared at the sky as they talked.

"Brother…if someone saw you-"

"It'll be fine. She only saw my face for half a second before I knocked her out."

"You…knocked her out?"

"Yes…with my ability…"

"Oh…" They both did not know where this weird power came from, and when Ryze told his sister about it the first time, she had trouble believing him.

"Hey, Kurliah…what did you mean before?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you said that you knew it?"

"…I don't know." She stared at the ground. "I dreamt it."

Ryze looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I dreamt soldiers took you away…it was unbearable…when I woke up, you were gone. I was really scared, Ryze." She looked at Ryze, and noticed his ring gleaming in the moonlight. "Why do you even wear that? Dad abandoned us, why do wear his gift?"

"It's my only gift from him…Mom thought it was important to wear it, so I do."

She lied down with her head in his lap. "You're crazy." We both smiled, her purple eyes gleamed in the moonlight.

"Ryze…"

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about Mom again."

Kurliah never knew her Mom, guards took her away when she was about a year old. She would often ask Ryze to tell her about her. "She was very kind and gentle. She had beautiful blonde hair and purple eyes just like yours and mine. She loved you and me very much, and made sure we were always safe. She would do anything to protect us. When we were sad, she would find a way to make us happy. We were her prized possessions," he looked down to see his sister was sound asleep, and a smile formed on his face, "and I'm sure she's smiling down on us right now." He stared up in the night sky, gazing at the stars.

End of Chapter 1

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_Author Notes: What did you think? Any suggestions? _

_I'll try to post one once a week, probably Wednesdays._

_Thank you for reading._


	2. Chapter II:The Arrest

Chapter II: The Arrest

"Izimmi, come on! We'll never find the thief if you don't hurry up!" yelled a particularly cranky old man. Izimmi turned and looked at him. She had been looking around the small village. She had never seen people so depressed from poverty. She was used to the rich life of Tolbi, where her biggest trouble was deciding what color shoes to buy. Kunhal was a very strange place to this rich girl.

"Yes, Father," she replied. They were looking for a thief who had stolen from their home last night. Her Dad had a hunch that the thief lived in the poor town of Kunhal. Even if the thief only stole a few herbs and a few coins, they were looking for him because he knocked Izimmi out. It was so important to her father that he brought Tolbi guards to arrest the man.

Izimmi sighed. "Is that really the reason I'm here?" she asked herself. "Am I here for revenge? Or do I want to see him again?" Her thoughts drifted to the split second she saw him. She remembered his beautiful blonde hair, shiny and mysterious purple eyes, his scar that crossed his lips, and his trench coat which made him look mysterious. She admired that image.

"And his strange power…What was that?" she asked herself. But there was no time for that. They had to find him first. They had asked around, and were headed to the house which they thought belonged to the thief.

"Ah, we're here," said Izimmi's father. He loudly knocked on the door, and was answered by a little girl.

"Hello. What can I do for you sir?" asked the girl. She was tiny, probably around 12 years old, with beautiful blonde hair. "She's so beautiful," Izimmi thought, "and yet she's wearing rags." It made Izimmi sad to see such a pure soul in poverty.

"Yes, I'm looking for a young man. Are your parents home?" questioned the Izimmi's father.

"No. No one's home. I'm sorry, you must leave." the girl said, about to shut the door, but the man stopped her.

"Father…" Izimmi started.

"We want to get a look around. Is that okay, little girl?"

"No, I'm sorry. Please leave."

The man clearly started to get irritated. "Now, girl, I don't want to have to hurt you-"

Suddenly a man stepped out in front of the girl. Izimmi's eyes widened and heart stopped. This was him. This was the mysterious thief that had robbed them and knocked Izimmi unconscious.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"You…you stole from me! You broke into my house last night and stole from me and tried to hurt my daughter! You're coming with us!" the man yelled, and signaled the guards to take him.

"I did not try to hurt your daughter." The man said, eyeing the guards.

"So you admit you stole from me?" Izimmi's father questioned. After the man at the door stood silent for a few moments, Izimmi's father yelled, "Guards, arrest him!"

"Wait!" a man called from behind them. Everyone turned toward a group of four soldiers led by another man with blue hair, who seemed to be the one who had said to wait.

"This man is coming with us. Back off." The blue haired man said.

"Absolutely not! He's coming with us, he stole from me and attacked my daughter!"

"We are with High King Unni. You men must leave. Now." said the blue haired man. This made the men back off.

"Ryze, you must come with us," commanded the blue haired man.

"Ryze!" cried Kurliah.

"I'm not going anywhere," stated Ryze.

"Oh yes you are," said the blue haired man, and before Ryze could protest he whispered "Sleep" and Ryze passed out.

"NO!" yelled Kurliah, running to her brother's defense, but was quickly knocked out by another "Sleep"

Izimmi gasped. "That's how Ryze knocked me out," she thought, "this man has strange powers too."

"You two (pointing to two soldiers) carry the man to the carriage. The other two carry the little girl to her bed," commanded the blue haired man. Turning to Izimmi's father, he said, "I'm terribly sorry about your recent robbery. Maybe invest in guards?" and with that, he walked off, leaving a very angry man to his grumbling.

"The nerve of that guy, can you believe it Izimmi?...Izimmi?" Izimmi's father said while turning to find that Izimmi was no longer in sight. "Now then, where did she run off to?" he pondered.

End of Chapter II


	3. Chapter III:The Blue Haired Man

"So, Ryze, how are you doing?" The blue haired man asked. Ryze looked up at the man across the table. He had woken up in a cell a couple hours ago very dazed and confused. It took him several minutes to remember what had happened. Someone had kidnapped him. "The man said he was with the emperor…what could he want with me?" thought Ryze. Then he thought of his sister. "Oh gods, I hope she's okay," He hoped.

"That's okay, don't answer, I'll talk," said the blue haired man. "My name is Andrew, and I'm a Mercury adept," he said.

"What's that?" asked Ryze.

"A Mercury adept is one who can use water psynergy," the man said with a smile.

"…psynergy?"

Andrew chuckled. "Ah psynergy. Where to begin? I believe it was Kraden who once wrote 'psynergy is the life force all around us.' You see, psynergy is the source of power of all adepts. It's what allows me to do this," he explained as he turned his glass of water into ice.

Ryze gasped. "That's amazing!"

Andrew smiled. "I know. You know, you are an adept too."

"What? No, I can't turn water to ice," he said with a grin.

"Oh, I'm well aware. Jupiter adepts are unable to use frost without a frost jewel."

"…a Jupiter adept? What are you talking about?"

"You are well aware what I'm talking about. Your mysterious powers? I know all about them, and so does the High King. Allow me to explain. You see, there is an old legend that we've been investigating. Legend has it there is a weapon with the power of millions. It also said it will be used to take down an evil tyrant. High King Unni has ordered we research and find the weapon."

"…so? What does any of this have to do with me?" Ryze questioned.

"We recently found the key to this weapon. You. Legend has it a Jupiter adept residing in Kunhal is the key to this weapon."

"So you think it's me?"

"Oh, we know it's you, whether you know or not." Andrew said reassuringly.

"So, what are you going to do with me?"

Andrew smiled. "We'll discuss that later. First, I have a question for you. Would you like to get out of here?"

When Ryze heard this, he thought he was joking, but the serious look in his eyes implied not. His mind wandered to returning to his sister and pretending nothing happened and go back to normal. "Yes, I would."

"Well then, shall we be going?" Andrew asked while opening the door. With a little doubt it would be so easy to leave, he followed Andrew into the hallway. After turning some halls, they met two guards.

The first guard looked a little confused. "Hey! What are you doing with that prisoner, sir! We were ordered to-"

He did not get to finish his sentence. In an instant, Andrew coated both of them with water and froze them solid. "Let's go." Andrew said with Ryze still in awe in what had just happened. It was clear to him that Andrew was a powerful adept.

"Hopefully the other guards did not hear us." Andrew said when, right on cue, an alarm went off. Suddenly they were back to back surrounded by twenty men.

"You got my back Ryze?" Andrew asked.

"Yeah. Let's do it," Ryze said, raising his fists for battle.

End of Chapter III


	4. Chapter IV:The Escape

Chapter IV: The Escape

It all happened in an instant. Ryze recollected a few scenes, when Andrew formed ice spikes and stabbed several men with them, when he himself had knocked a man against the wall with a small whirlwind, when Andrew almost met his demise when a man about got him from behind and Ryze shot him with a bolt of lightning, and the group of guards that had surrounded them had fallen. Andrew turned toward Ryze and frowned.

"Ryze, your wound…" Ryze looked down at his shoulder to see what Andrew was talking about. There was an exceptional amount of blood streaming down his shirt from his shoulder. Ryze wondered how he did not even notice the wound before.

Andrew put his hand on his soldier and whispered, "Ply". His wound instantly healed. Ryze looked up in amazement.

"How did you-"

"It may still hurt a little, so be careful, but you should be alright in a day or two. Come on, we need to get out of here."

Ryze looked up at the lights to see they had been harmed in the fight. Most of them were off and it was probably dark enough to use his power.

"Grab my hand." Ryze said, and Andrew did so without question. He concentrated on making him and Andrew invisible, and in a few seconds, they were.

"Ah, Cloak," said Andrew, "As long as we stay in the dark, we will be fine."

After sneaking past several groups of very confused guards, they finally escaped the facility. "Where are we anyway?" Ryze asked the question he had been wondering all day.

"We were in Kalay Prison." Andrew replied. Ryze frowned at this information.

"Kalay? That's days away from Kunhal, how did you guys get me here so quick?"

"When you're connected to the High King, you get priority over others. We got the first boat to Kalay. However, it did take us a few days to get here." Ryze blinked in surprise.

"A few days? I was only out a…few hours…right?" It was weird to think Ryze could sleep for several days.

"Yes, Sleep has that effect," Andrew explained. "I hit you with my most powerful blast of sleep because I did not know how powerful you were and how much you could resist it."

By this time they were walking out of Kalay.

"Why did you free me anyway?"

"I'm not actually with High King Unni. I'm with the rebellion, the Alchemists."

"The Alchemists?"

"It's not surprising that you've never heard of any rebellion. You're so close to Tolbi, the heart of the Empire. Nevertheless, there has been a rebellion rising for a year now. It connects to the prophecy I mentioned earlier. The rebellion does not want to see the High King control Alchemy."

"Yeah, explain to me what alchemy is?"

"Alchemy is basically the four elements combining together to create reality. High King Unni seeks the weapon to control the four elements. He would be unstoppable with this weapon."

Andrew stopped in front of Ryze.

"Alright, it's time to figure out our next move," Andrew said.

"Our next move?" Ryze replied.

"Yes. We probably need to head straight to Mercury Lighthouse, unless you need to tie up some loose ends."

"Wait, who said I was going with you?" Ryze said.

Andrew looked at him in a puzzled way. "Where will you go then? You are now a target to the empire. You need the protection of the rebels to survive."

"I can handle myself. Besides, I must return to my sister."

"They will go to Kunhal to look for you soon. You cannot return."

"What about my sister?" The thought of her being dragged away by guards was unbearable to Ryze.

"Oh, the rebels took her to our safe haven in the Eastern Sea near Aqua Rock. She's fine."

"As long as she's okay," Ryze thought. "Still, I can live on my own. I can go into hiding."

"Trust me, you cannot hide from the High King. We need you to help us defeat him."

"I'm just one guy."

"No, you're chosen by the gods to do this. Would you not like to see the High King fall?

The truth was, Ryze was tired of the empire pushing him around. High King Unni probably got whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, while him and his sister suffered daily.

"I would…"

"So…shall we?" Andrew ushered his hand onward.

"Let's go, on the way you can explain to me where we're going."

Andrew smiled. "Excellent, to Mercury Lighthouse!"

End of Chapter IV


	5. Chapter V:The Road to Mercury Lighthouse

Chapter V: The Road to Mercury Lighthouse

"Do you remember the legends about the Warriors of Vale?" Andrew asked.

"The Warriors of Vale…yes, I remember my mother telling me about them before bed. They traveled around Weyard to the elemental lighthouses and saved all of Weyard from destruction. Those are just stories though…right?"

"No, that happened several centuries ago. The journey of Isaac, Garet, Jenna, Felix, and others. They broke the seal on alchemy and released it into the world. It was mans duty to use it for good, and not for evil. Many adepts joined together and tried to make sure that the world did not use alchemy for evil, and called themselves the Alchemists. We were able to take down every man who wanted to gain evil power through alchemy. Emperor Unni, however, has a tight grip on all of Weyard, and it will take a lot to defeat him. It is in our darkest hour which the legends started to show. Signs that you were ready to take on High Emperor Unni started to occur. The lighthouses glowed with more power and psynergy than usual. Now that we found you, we can have victory."

"I'm not totally buying all this, but I'll go along with it. Are we close?"

"Yes, we're coming up on Imil, a town we'll rest at before going to the lighthouse," answered Andrew. Ryze suddenly tripped in the snow, which Andrew chuckled at.

"Never seen snow, huh?" said Andrew.

"I have not, and it is incredible! It is hard to walk in though, and a bit chilly. My trench coat is not really helping," answered Ryze, eager to see the snow.

"You'll get used to it. I did. I actually grew up in Imil, but moved to Prox at an early age with an Alchemist rebel. That's were our main base of operations is, Prox, which is right south of Mars Lighthouse," Andrew explained.

"So you grew up here, huh?" Ryze said as they entered the small town.

"Correct, with my brother and grandmother. They were both water adepts like me, but not as powerful. I've always had an easier time learning more about alchemy and psynergy. We were the guardians of Mercury Lighthouse, which is why it was hard to leave Imil at first. That and I was always a grandmomma's boy. But it was my destiny to join the Alchemists, so I left Imil, the lighthouse, and my family to join the Alchemists," As he talked, another man approached them.

"Hello, travelers! We don't usually get visitors here in Imil! Allow me to introduce myself! I'm Daniel of the Mercury Clan, and you are…" Andrew met him with a smile.

"Brother! I can't believe it's you! Look how much you've grown!" Andrew said this while embracing his brother.

"…Andrew? It's really you? Oh, I have not seen you in ages! It's been what, 7 years since you visited us?" Daniel and Andrew met again with excitement.

"What brings you back? And who's your friend?" Daniel asked, suddenly noticing Ryze.

"This is Ryze, and I'll explain after he gets a cup of cocoa," he said.

"Certainly, let's go."

After explaining the legend, Ryze, and the introduction of cocoa to Ryze, Daniel started to seem nervous, and it was becoming apparent.

"What is wrong, Daniel?" Andrew asked.

"Well…I've been dreading this moment, but there is something you need to know about Grandma," he managed to get out.

"Oh yeah, where is she? At the lighthouse again, I presume?" Andrew said, not noticing the pain in Daniel's eyes as he sipped his cocoa.

"No, Andrew. A few years ago, she grew ill. Extremely ill. She was bedridden to the point where my healings could not help her."

Andrew's eyes grew wide and the room filled with silence.

"In her last moments she told me that she always loved us both, and made me swear to tell you her dying words. She said she was visited by a dream, and by the time I told you what she said it would be extremely important. She told me 'Your brother will face many hardships in his future quest, and this will be his first. He will need to be strong and face problems with courage. And most importantly, tell him I will always be with him.'…those were her final words before she…passed," said Daniel, a tear forming in his eye.

"Where is she now?" asked Andrew.

"I buried her body on the hill right out of town, were we watched you leave the last time we saw you. I figured she would want that," as Daniel talked, Andrew rushed out the door. It was silent for a moment as Daniel looked down in sadness.

"It's Ryze, right?" said Daniel, "Let Andrew have some alone time to…say goodbye. He really loved our grandmother. You can rest downstairs."

Ryze realized he was extremely tired from the journey, and agreed. He left Daniel stirring a cup of hot cocoa, staring out his window.

The next morning, Ryze got up and went outside. He sat outside and stared at Mercury Lighthouse. It was a magnificent sight. He must have been there long because suddenly, Andrew came tumbling out of the house with his hair messed up and looking very sickly.

"Are you ready to go, Ryze?" His voice was full of pain.

"Are you alright to go like this?" Ryze asked.

"I'll be fine. Let's go," Andrew insisted.

As they left Imil and neared the lighthouse, Ryze became uncomfortable with the silence.

"So…Mercury Lighthouse. What will we find inside?"

"Probably monsters, it's been sealed for a long time. We're prepared though," Andrew said, with his voice returning to what it had been before he learned about his loss. "And the lighthouses were filled with puzzles and traps that only adepts can get past. It will be simple."

"Okay, so are you alright then. I realize what you are going through, I don't even have my parents anymore. No grandparents either," when Ryze looked at Andrew, he just stared at him.

"We have to keep moving, look, we're here," said Andrew. He walked up to the fountain and took a sip of it's water. Looking quite refreshed, he walked up to the door, and whispered "Ply". The door suddenly opened with the spell, breaking the seal.

"Alright then, shall we enter?" said Andrew as he walked into the lighthouse.

End of Chapter V

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_Author Notes: I apoligize for not posting a chapter in a while. Stuff has been crazy where I am. Then again, for all I know, only one person reads these XD. I'll try to get back into this. Thanks for reading!_


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